Cliff Hanger
Pristine Waterfall, Deepcrest Island, New Luna - New Luna - The stream slowly builds speed as the path continues down the mountain. The small fishlike-mammals jump from the water occasionally, breaking the surface. A few hundred meters beyond the large rocky outcrop the large stream drops off completely. A huge cloud of spray rises into the area, warping the light and generating a beautiful, stunning scene of rainbows, mists, and the beautiful green forest. The path goes to the edge of the waterfal before dropping off the cliff as well. Closer inspection reveals step-like rocks leading down to the foot of the waterfall. Halfway down the flatten out into a ledge before continuing, but the ledge leads behind the waterfall. The waterfall itself cascades down the cliff in a rather narrow, fast stream. The rocks around are covered in green moss. There are those who can arrive in complete silence, with their footfall but a feathery touch, their presence blending into the natural environment like they've belonged there all their life. Franceza's not one of them. Old work boots might fit like a glove, but they do thump on a rocky path. Her kicking stones ahead of her doesn't help either. The occasional slosh of the bottle in her hand as she raises it to her lips? No help. And if she still wouldn't get noticed, there's the continued, slightly intoxicated muttering. Then again, she doesn't expect to find anyone this far up. There are indeed those who can move with complete silence, blending in and evading notice, and unlike Franceza, Fade happens to be one of them. Having heard the engineer's approach long before she came into view (the starlight providing ample illumination), he quickly rises from where he had been sitting on the edge of the cliff, and scampers over the ledge far enough to hide, yet still be able to peek over the top. His long mass of hair, matted damply down his back, would indicate to an observer that he has perhaps recently emerged from the river. He blinks over the edge of the cliff owlishly in the semi-darkness. Lightstreak stalks through the foliage surrounding the stream silently, his frame low to the ground as he takes on hunting stance which reveals his predatory nature. He sniffs at the air with his nostrils, and listens to his surroundings intently. "Mrrrerree" His intense gaze sweeps across the stream, towards waterfall, then back north towards the path. Even preoccupied with her own apparent misery, Franceza has ears. She just made it to that lovely empty cliff, perfect for sitting down and getting thoroughly plastered, when she picks up on the animalistic sound. Her head turns this way and that, trying to pinpoint it's origin, while her free hand searches her pockets for all the weapons she didn't bring along. Though she does dig up a lighter. Beasts fear fire, don't they? Fade is watching Fran approach, warily drawing back a little, as though about to sneak away, when he, too, hears something. Carefully freezing, so as not to betray any overt motion, he carefully starts turning his head, flicking his gaze here and there in the shadows. Small rustling noises, he's become used to. Large rustling noises, not so much. Lightstreak resumes moving through the foliage, still slowly, along the banks of the stream, in the opposite direction of the cliff and roaring waterfall. "raWll PruurRrr phhmmmfft Mmrroow Mmrroow wroWall" The Demarian mutters to himself as he carefully stalks away. Listening intently now, Franceza stands on the cliff like a statue, lighter at the ready to spook away any kind of creature. Still, her hand is shaking, making the liquid in the bottle slosh a little. "No more lizards," she breathes her plea. Fade, staring intently toward the direction where he last heard the rustling, forgets for a moment that he's hiding from Franceza. "That was a lizard?" he replies, his voice echoing up over the edge of the cliff. Lightstreak growls loudly, scaring off a few of the small animals near his bush, a toothy grin forming across his visage soon afterwards. He takes one look back towards the cliff, before he breaks out into a run, towards the northern path, or at least, what might suffice for a run, for the Demarian's movements are noticeably awkward as he dodges branches, steps over rocks and leaps over fallen logs. When all at once there's sounds from everywhere, and movement, and ohmy. Franceza nearly looses her balance, drops the lighter which sparks once on the rocky ground. "I've got a gun," she threatens, her alto wavery and slightly double tongued. "Stay away!" Fade starts to climb when he hears the growl, but then lets out a surprised yelp at Franceza's sudden exclamation, and nearly loses his grip. Scratching audibly at the edge of the cliff, he barely manages to keep a handhold. "Hey!" he dangles dangerously for a moment. "Oh!" Shivering, Franceza crouches, searching desperately for her lighter, "I mean it!" she shouts, her alto ripping through the forest, "Fuck off!" Her fingers find the metal casing and she clutches it like it would indeed offer the protection and actual gun would give. Fade finally manages to find a single foothold with one leg, and boosts himself up far enough to lever one elbow over the edge and stick his head up at an odd angle. "Sshhhh!" he admonishes, urgently. "We can't hear it if you're yelling!" He painfully starts pulling the rest of himself up, wincing. He appears to have wrenched his shoulder in the near-fall. "Noisy human!" Franceza looks ready to kick him back off the ledge, frightened now to see someone there. The lack of light doesn't help her identify who's there. "Martin... If this is one of your sick jokes," she tries, voice wavering. She glances around, but in her confusion doesn't see the path she walked to get here. Fade lets out another little yelp and awkwardly scuttles away along the edge of the cliff, thinking Franceza is about to attack him. "Noisy -violent- human! Didn't you hear something? I heard a creature!" He sounds a little frustrated, as well as exhausted. "Don't kick me! Go away! I was here first!" His voice has a certain impish quality to it, and carries an exasperated tone. "Who are you," Franceza demands, dealing with one threat at a time and since the growling bushy one has run off, there's only one immediate. "Who are -you-?" Fade retorts, still sounding a bit petulant. Now that he's out of immediate kicking range, his voice takes on a slightly more teasing tone. "I was here first. You should identify yourself!" After a slight pause, he adds, "You should stop moving around like that, you know. If you can't see, you're awfully close to the edge, there." Franceza throws his advise away, though her boots now feel where she's going before she actually sets her foot down. "You're just a kid," she wonders. Some of the tension leaves her, "What are you doing here. You should be in bed." And to restore her Dutch courage, she sets the bottle back to her lips and drinks. Fade sighs. The sort of long-suffering sigh of someone having to answer the same question over and over. "I'm not," he replies, "A kid." His voice seems extremely adept at expressing emotion through tone and inflection, often going through several in the same sentence. Now he sounds a little annoyed. "I'm just -small-. Is that a problem?" He watches Franceza for a moment. "You know, you really should step away from there. Or at least, sit down. You're going to fall." Not a kid? That means that the danger she thought was lessening is back in front of her. Naturally she takes a step back. Didn't count on the steps down being there and she looses her balance. The bottle's first to go as she waves her hand to regain it, shattering further down the path. She shrieks. Fade swears under his breath in timonese, the inflection making the meaning clear. Springing up from his crouch (with a wince) he darts over to Franceza, and attempts to throw his arms around her waist and pull her away from the drop. "Sit... Down!" Suddenly finding hands around your waist is not something Franceza's used to and this up close she can finally mark him for what he is: Timonae. She screams louder, even as she's sat down, hands pushing hard against him to create some distance, "Get away!" Fade yells, "Hey!" as he's so rudely shoved, and caught off-guard at an awkward angle, his utter lack of leverage makes him easily thrown. He lands on his left shoulder, eliciting an even louder yelp and rolling. In a dramatic, stretched-out moment, he rolls right off the cliff, scrambling and twisting desperately in mid-air, and reaching out with his right hand to snag a large tree-root at the last possible second. "Aaiiee!" he cries, whimpering as his other shoulder is wrenched. "Stupid stupid human!" Franceza falls back herself, down a few of the rocky steps, but luckily not into the bottle shards. "Stay away, you scum," she hisses. Once she gets her breath back. There's a long, silent pause, before Fade replies, in a pained voice that still manages to drip with sarcasm, "Oh yes, I'm sure this root is going to leap out of the dirt and hurl me at you at any moment." he takes a few ragged breaths, grunting slightly with strain. "So sorry I saved your life, there. How rude of me. Won't..." he gasps, slipping a little, "...Happen again.." there's a faint snapping sound. "...Oh." Franceza hesitates, sitting perfectly still while she judges her options for survival. Fade eyes the root worriedly, trying to pull himself up again desperately before the brittle wood snaps under his slight weight. Softly keening in pain, he levers himself upward, reaching closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, when his hand suddenly slips. Too scared to even cry out this time, he manages to twist so the root comes up under his arm, snagging him painfully and eliciting a slight popping sound from somewhere within his shoulder. Maybe it's the silence that kicks some sense back into Franceza. After a moment, her face appears over the cliff, the brown eyes searching. Guarded, but worried. She's not heartless after all. She assesses the situation in a heartbeat and a strong hand wraps around his wrist. She starts to pull. Fade widens his eyes when he realizes the human is going to help him after all. The bitter sarcasm drops out of his expression quickly enough to betray it as mere bravado; underneath, Fade is scared. When Fran grabs his wrist, he tries to angle himself slightly upward to help, but the motion (and Fran's tugging) causes another yelp of pain, and he slips even further, hanging by his elbow now. The root lets out another ominous snapping sound. "Hang on," Frank hisses with the effort it takes her just to hold on to him. "Grab my arm." His slipping has her only grabbing him harder, fingers digging into the last remnants of his wrist. "Hurry!" Whimpering in pain, but with the determination born of desperation, Fade manages to get a firm grasp of Franceza's wrist just as the root gives its last snap, and he swings precariously, held up by Fran's strength alone, as the root tumbles down the side of the cliff, cracking and ricocheting off the rocks. Fade doesn't speak, his face is ashen and his eyes wide as they can be. The tiniest of whimpers escapes his throat, little more than a squeak. "Hold on," the woman orders, her free hand looking for a ridge to hold on to while she now has his full weight on her arm. She pulls with all her might. Fade tries to remain as still as possible, though he can't help shuddering with the strain and discomfort. "Can we..." he stammers, "...Can we t-turn off the g-gravity now p-please?" "No... Time... To... Joke..." Franceza grunts, having a hard enough time to hold on to him, he hasn't been lifted an inch so far. "Help me." She takes another deep breath and pulls again. Fade tries to help, and perhaps manages to lever himself up slightly by pushing his feet against the cliff, but mostly he just sends a rain of small rocks and pebbles to plummet down below him. "I'm... trying..." Maybe the little effort was enough, as Franceza is able to lift him to the edge of the cliff. "Grab it," she says through clenched teeth, "Don't know how much longer..." She pulls again. Fade's hand squeezes Franceza's wrist desperately as he tries to get a leg up over the edge of the cliff, with limited success. He manages to get into a precariously hanging position, with one leg and most of his torso hanging down. "Almost..." he hisses. Grunting with effort, Franceza needs a moment to get enough strength back for another pull, the muscles in her arms budging like some bodybuilder. Gasping, Fade finally scrambles over the edge, and after forcing himself to let go of Franceza's hand, he promptly collapses face-down onto the ground, spread-eagled, and shivers like crazy. Franceza simply breathes, her arms too sore to pull them back in. Fade finally manages to gasp, "Thank you... Human..." with his voice a bit muffled by the ground. He doesn't move at first, either, just laying there, twitching and shivering. After a minute or two, he starts moving his limbs a little, before attempting to painfully roll onto his side. Franceza tries first her left, then her right arm. Has just about enough left to push herself up to a crouch, sitting on her heels. She tests the fingers of one hand, then the other. Methodical, they could've been parts of a machine she's testing. After a moment or two, when she finds her strength weakened, but all in working order, she looks up, the brown eyes guarded at him. "Don't thank me," she tells him. "You won't get anything from me." Fade doesn't seem quite able to process Franceza's statement, appearing more than a bit confused as he twists his head around to peer up at her. "Whaa?" He still looks a bit dazed, perhaps even in a slight state of shock. Franceza studies him for a time in silence, but convinces herself to move over to him, and check his shoulder. "Don't move," is the curtly given command. Fade is either used to authority, or too stunned to protest. Judging by his demeanor, it's probably the latter. In any case, he remains mostly still, shivering a little. His shoulder doesn't seem obviously dislocated, but from the bruising and knotted muscles, he'll no doubt end up with a painful sprain, if nothing else. He seems almost unusually flexible. "Right," the woman mutters, apparently not at all pleased with what she found. Or with the consequences. "I'll help you out here, but if you try anything, -anything-, I'll dump you by the side of the road and leave you to rot, capice." She snorts, "Ain't got no money on me and you damn well not be tryin' to get in my pants." That said, she looks at him a moment longer, then shifts so she can haul him over her shoulder. Fade protests with a startled sound, and twists himself away, wincing. "Hey!" he exclaims, "Leave me alone!" Wincing, he shifts himself up a bit more to use his legs to scoot away from Franceza. "You're not taking me anywhere! Leave off!" He eyes Fran warily, his right hand reaching up to cover his left shoulder protectively. "You're crazy! Get away!" Franceza sits with Fade right by the edge of the cliff. She tried to lift the wounded Timonae over her shoulder, but now she just rises by herself. "You need help," she snorts, "Take it or leave it." Rolling her own sore shoulders, she descends the mountain path, brushing shards of glass aside with a boot when she reaches her broken bottle. Then notices all the dirt on her own clothes, "Timonae scum," she curses softly, dusting herself off. Fade must have heard that, because he retorts by swearing "Stupid, stupid humans," under his breath. Awkwardly, he rises into a lopsided crouch and starts crawling toward the cliff again, this time angling to where the safer steps down behind the waterfall are. A pair of lean, wolfish dogs jog in, one with a coat of tawny brown and the other a soft grey. Ears perk forward at the apparent scuffle, and the grey one wuffs softly, looking back into the forest. Right about then is when Rish saunters in, her hands in her pockets. "I dunno, I'm really not sure what to do about him..." she's saying to someone a bit behind her, but she trails off there, frowning. "Kohana? S'wrong, babe?" She hastens her steps to catch up with the canines. "Well.. maybe you shoul--" Tia trails off as Kohana wuffs, the Martian quickening her pace to catch up with Rish, "What's goin' on?" As soon as the first dog arrives, Franceza halts her descend, eyeing the dog guardedly. She squares her shoulder ready for another confrontation. She narrows her eyes, asks Arizhel tersely, "You let them dogs run free before..." Fade freezes as the tone in Franceza's voice, still somewhat within range, indicates she's talking to someone else. Whispering a long string of timonese curses, he ducks down a bit more and attempts to reach the narrow, hidden steps to the waterfall without being seen. "Kitchi, Kohana, tkin-cid-da-hi," Rish says, pointing at the ground. Both dogs sit obediently, and the Terran smiles wryly at Franceza. "These two are better behaved than most people's children, and -they're- allowed to run free." She pauses, looking toward the stairs, then shakes her head and looks back at Franceza. "Thought I heard voices is all. Still, I wonder why she barked at you." The Terran scratches her head, faintly puzzled. A scan of the area pays off after a bit as Tia comes to the slow realization that there's someone other than Fran here. An injured someone. An injured someone who's Timonae. Her eyes narrow on Frank as she comes to the most seemingly logical conclusion, the girl stepping forward, "What did you do to him?" It's a demand, and it's quite firm and unforgiving. A hand signal is given to Rish in Fade's direction, soft words following for the Terran, "He looks hurt..." "Should keep them on a leash," Frank shrugs, faking indifference, but the soreness in her muscles still makes for awkward movement. "Was something big growling in the woods earlier." She still eyes the forest with distrust. She looks down at the dog, "He probably sniffed out the Ti-," she mutters, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the now empty cliff. At the accusation, she cuts off her words, glares hard at Tiana, "Why wou-ohh, just piss off..." And she'll try to make her way through Tiana if she needs to. Fade is, by this time, too far away to make out the words being spoken, but he does pick up on the tone of urgency, and seeming to assume that means trouble for him, speeds up his movements, reaching the top of the narrow stairs and carefully stepping down. He could move a lot faster, but he's leaning against the rocks to the side with a sort of desperation that indicates he expects to fall at any moment. He continues cursing under his breath in timonese, in a rueful, almost panicky tone. Arizhel eyes Franceza sidewise a mite dubiously, one brow quirking upward. She shakes her head then, and holds out a hand, palm toward her canine companions. "Ta-akwai-i," she instructs, and the smaller, grey dog whines in response, her eyes following the Timonae. Both of them, however, stay still, their tails thumping uneasily against the ground a few times. Her instructions given, the Terran starts after Fade, calling out. "Hey, s'ok, hon. You don't gotta run away. M'not gonna hurt you or anything." "How about no." Tia states flatly, stepping to get in the way of Fran's departure, "Quite frankly, i'm not letting you go anywhere. Either you prove to me without a -single- bloody doubt that you weren't the cause of this, or i'll get the authorities involved. Considering your well known xenophobia and the scene presented, looks like assault to me." She actually smirks at that. "Oh, just make my day," Franceza sneers fatalistically, bringing her nose an inch from Tiana's. "You're ready to think the worst of me no matter what, so stop the pretence." She glances sideways to spit to the ground, and snorts, "What would you say if I told you I just saved the idiot's life." And just because she's in that kind of mood, she softly pushes the girl at the shoulders. "Hm, what would you say about that." They're standing by the path leading down, Arizhel walked after Fade down the steps to the waterfall. There's a faint chittering from the trees, and it sounds like someone's woken up the local ferretmonkeys. There's even a song that carries on the breeze, sung in a mixture of an Outbacker tongue and Martian Latin. Strong, but yet slightly sad. Fade possibly doesn't hear Arizhel's call, or more likely just doesn't recognize it as someone known. He continues making his way down and around the stairs with the desperation of someone who thinks everyone is trying to kill him. He reaches the point where the spray from the waterfall obscures his position, seeming to angle toward the entrance to the hidden cave behind the waterfall. The barking of dogs intrudes upon the scene then, both Kitchi and Kohana starting up as Franceza advances on Tiana. They don't stand, nor is the barking menacing, really, but it's definitely meant to get attention. Rish looks back toward Tiana and Frank, frowning, then looks after Fade again. A short, yet explosive, string of curses in Spanish escape her as she realizes she's lost his position, and she shakes her head, then starts back at a jog. "He won't come out, Tia, and I don't wanna scare him more, whoever he is. I'm gonna go get help, kay? S'not far to town from here." The singing and the chittering continue to draw closer, as a one eyed man continues up the path. The strange song continues to raise and drop as the lyrics requires it to. "Gods woman, you're pathetic." Tia takes a light step backwards with the shove but otherwise doesn't budge, "-I- was prepared to give you another chance, but you promptly ruined that. You've got no one to blame but yourself and quite frankly, you've proven yourself to be nothing bu an ignorant, crybaby bitch. So, here's your bloody options, prove you helped in a satisfactory manner to me, or prove it to the authorities." "You're wasting your time," Franceza tells Arizhel, though she doesn't take her eyes off Tiana. "Bastardo is hurt. Think he dislocated his shoulder, but he'd rather suffer then see a doctor." To Tiana, she just makes a face, "Go play with something you understand, girl." And she intends to walk by Tiana again, but it obviously is costing her willpower to do so, the hands clenched to fists since Tiana's crybaby remark. Arizhel stops where the two loudly-barking canines are setting up their din, and lays a hand on each of their heads. "Shhh," she says, patting them. They fall silent - mostly. The occasional whine is still given. She eyes Franceza, then shrugs. "Maybe someone else can get him to come out. Maybe they'll send another Timonae so he won't be so scared. I gotta try, he's hurt." She gestures to the two wolfish dogs, and says "Bih-tsee-dih," in response to which they get up and trot ahead of her down the path, staying just in sight. The Terran waves to Tiana, then starts off at a jog after them. "I'll send someone." The near-fight seems either to have escaped her, or passed as beneath her notice at the moment. There's a faint glowing from the one eye as McDowell makes his way up to the top of the path. Strangely enough, the song he sings seems to hit its highest point. The man drops into silence at the sound of voices. But the chittering from the trees above continues. He moves off to the side when Rish starts to make her way down, observing the two dogs through narrowed eyes. He doesn't say anything. Tia's having none of it, moving again to stay in front of Fran and effectively block her path, "If you think i'm playing, you're sadly mistaken. But I urge you, continue in the manner you're going on in, i'm sure the authorities will be interested to hear about it." Franceza closes her eyes for a moment, "Get out of my way," she says, quietly, stretching the last of her patience. When she looks at Tiana again, there's no room left for mercy in those brown eyes. She continues through her teeth, with her last reserve pulling her control together, "I just pulled a Timonese scumbag from a cliff and if you're insisting on making my life hell right now, I promise you. You'll be sorry you ever tried." McDowell starts to make his way forward at the sound of the voices growing more intent, but slips off into the foliage at the side of the road. When he feel he's out of side, he kneels down. Not only to try and observe, but to remove the small pistol .357 concealed in an ankle holster and the dark blue silencer. He continues to listen, rather closely to the voices. "The -only- one making your life hell is -you-. Are you so stupid to not get that you burn bridges left and right? People have -tried- being nice to you, but you just turn around and act like a child. Take some personal responsibility like an -adult- should." Tia states coldly, not budging in the least, "Maybe if you'd just talked instead, I would give you the benefit of the doubt, but by this point, you've lost the right to even that. I will -not- let you go and I -will- report your threat too." Franceza has had it. Her self control snaps so hard, it's nearly audible. "Get. Out. Of. My. Way," she bites, putting all her weight and sore muscles behind a push against Tiana which might land the girl in the soft foliage beside the path if Frank succeeds. McDowell remains hidden, as he flicks out the speed loader for the revolver. His gloved hands slowly check over the rounds, before he quietly shuts the pistol and cocks it. He then checks the laser sight against the palm of his hand The silenced weapon is then moved around to the back of his camouflage pants and carefully tucked down the back of them. Hopefully not discharging and giving the gent in question a rather strange injury. Digging her feet in, Tia pushes back, the girl not moving -at all-, "No." She lends a bit more counterweight to the force in order to push Frank back a few steps and assert the fact more forcefully that the engineer isn't going to get her way. Outraged, Franceza twists her head, then, without another thought, simply launches herself at Tiana, one hand reaching, the other pulled back to punch the moment she has a chance. "Vai in culo!" she shouts. Sadly, the laser sight doesn't stay attached to the smaller silenced pistol. It's produced and held high, the red dot from the orphan sight slowly dancing along the ground towards Franceza and Tiana in an attempt to try and stop the fight. McDowell on the other hand, doesn't seem too impressed at either of them from his hiding spot. Tiana dances back easily out of the way of the strike, the Martian shaking her head lightly, "You're only making it worse for yourself." She's holding back it seems, as the girl doesn't attack in return. Franceza lands on the ground awkwardly, stumbling past Tiana until she manages to stabilize herself by means of a parked tree. "Don't think so," she sneers. She bends to pick up a small rock, but instead of throwing it, moves further down the path. McDowell's red dot continues towards the two women. Namely towards the one facing towards the path, still in an attempt to break the duo up and even stop them. Faint flickers of light from further down the path can be seen, making their way up toward the cliff. The motion resolves into a pair of figures, one slightly taller than the other. Wearing medical gear, and carrying hand-lights, the Timonae and human move toward the side of the path as they near Franceza's position, so as not to get in anyone's way. They eye the combatants warily, but seem intent on their objective, which is at the top of the cliff. "Fine." Tia calls after Fran, "Be prepared to have authorities on your doorstep." She turns her back to the other woman to give a look around to try and locate Fade, since she lost him shortly after spotting him. Tossing the stone in one hand, Frank points at the steps by the waterfall with the other, dismissing Tiana's words. "One you want went down there. Somewhere. Probably dislocated shoulder." She tells it to the human, not the Timonae. With a deep sigh, letting some of the tension go, she throws the rock into the bushes hard. Maybe envisions the plants to be Tiana. Even though the rock hits something with a meaty thunk, there's no real noise from whatever it hit. McDowell on the other hand is rubbing the right hand side of his head, the side where he's lacking one eyed after being clunked by the errant rock. There's low curses in Demarese, which then switch to the hisses and clicks of Zanta. He shakes his head a couple of times, but remains where he is, silent and bleeding. The red light sight is dropped. The shorter of the two medics nods somewhat hesitantly toward Franceza as they pass her, and the human medic lags behind for a moment to ask the disgruntled engineer, "Are there any other wounded?" The Timonae medic goes ahead to the top of the cliff, glancing toward Tiana for a moment before making sure his equipment is secure and carefully starting down the stairs. "Hey, c'mon out. It's okay." Tia calls in the general direction of where she assumes Fade to be, obviously trying to coax the Timonae out of hiding, wherever he was, "The medics are here to patch you up, okay?" "No," Franceza answers the medic tiredly, discarding her own dirty clothes, the scratches on her arms and knees. A last look over her shoulder and a disgusted look at Tiana, says softly, "Little miss pristine..." She spits, considers picking up another rock, but decides against it. Kicks the rock instead into the bushes. And starts her way down again. McDowell makes his way out of the bushes, not as silent as he entered. He's still rubbing his head and doesn't look all that impressed. Though, he's still of sound enough mind to drop the back of the BDU over the silenced pistol. "Go to feed ferretmonkeys, and this happens," he irately mutters, this time switching to Demarese. There's a slightly confused blink, before he glances up the path towards the medics. The human medic nods to Franceza, pausing for just a moment as if about to ask her if she, herself, is okay. When she turns and moves away, he shrugs slightly, and follows suit, turning and moving toward his partner on the cliff. As he swings around, the stark contrast of the light from his hand-lamp along the trees makes crazy shadows leap and dance everywhere. His partner, by this time, has reached the edge of the waterfall's spray, and is calling something out in timonese. After a long pause, there's a faint reply, and after several such exchanges, Fade emerges into view, wet and bedraggled and dirty. He holds his left shoulder defensively as the timonae medic helps him back up the stairs. Fade keeps looking around sharply, seeming more than a bit paranoid. McDowell shakes his head at the scene, before drifting after Franceza. "Can you take care of him?" Tia calls to the medics as she half-turns to spot McD, "I need to go report this." The medics give a sharp affirmative in reply to Tiana as the two of them continue to assist Fade. They seem to be taking their time now that they have their charge, not wanting to jostle him unnecessarily. As soon as she's around the bend, Franceza rolls her shoulders, more sore then she wanted to admit. It's not every day that she has to pull someone up like that, lightweight or not. Angry, she again kicks a stone, it scatters into the bushes, startling a couple of birds. McDowell doesn't glance back towards Tiana, the medics or the chap their bringing out of the cave. He appears focused on Franceza and where she's gone. Tiana offers the medics a nod before she fully turns and starts heading down the mountain, by default trailing after McD and Franceza, since they're going in the same direction and all that. Mountainside Stream - New Luna - The path curves around the mountainside from the east, and then gently slopes down before meeting with a beautiful curving stream. The stream is flawless, filled with fast moving and crystal-clear spring water from further up the mountain. Small furred animals swim in the stream, resembling fish but equipped with the silky, oily fur that bespeaks a mammal. A few insects can be seen buzzing about the calmer sections of the stream, and on the western side of the stream a family of ferretmonkeys splash about happily. Marks of passage show this place to be known by large and small animals alike. The stream meanders down the mountainside, sometimes slow and calm, othertimes rushing and full of rapids. The trail follows the side of the stream until it enters an area of rocks and disappears from view. A rushing sound can be heard, almost a roaring. Sighing, Franceza keeps walking. A hunch makes her look over her shoulder, frowning. "Ah, who'm I kidding," she chastises herself out loud. McDowell's a ninja, just ask him, most likely evening knowing a few short cuts. As Franceza's glancing over her shoulder, he silently makes his way out of the bushes; without a rustle being made, and pretty much right beside her. He walks along for a little bit in silence, as if he'd been there all along. "Who are you kidding?" he asks, in a rather curious, yet cautious manner. There's a bit of wet blood down one side of his face, a bit darker than it should be. Ever seen a human engineer jump? Try now. With accompanying shriek. It all doesn't help with Franceza's battered nerves. First instinct? Kick whatever scared you shitless to begin with. In this case, McDowell. Tiana picks her path down the mountain some distance behind Fran and McD, close enough to see them, not necessarily close enough to hear casual conversation. The shriek does get heard though, but the Martian's pretty unconcerned about it. McDowell simply steps out the way of the kick and shakes his head at Frank. The shriek she produced certainly didn't worry him at all. "Deep breathes," he says, this time slightly amused. "You'll panic otherwise." "Oh, fuck off," is Franceza's only reply, quickening her step. Tiana quickens her pace just a bit, likely with the intention of coming within hearing range of the conversation. McDowell shakes his head. "You will stop and you will listen," states the one eyed man. "Or I will force you to stop and listen. We have attempted to initiate civil conversation this time, only to be pelted by a rock and now being verbally abused." "Like hell I will!" Franceza starts running. "Typical" Tia mutters to herself as she continues at her quick, but easy pace. McDowell casually draws out the silenced pistol from behind of himself, raising it up and taking aim at Franceza's leg. "You forced our hand," he says, shaking his head. "We are sorry for this inconvenience. But we will not let you commit murder on this planet." He brings back the hammer in a smooth action, switches off the safety and gently depresses the trigger. She was running down a mountain. There shouldn't be darts being shot at you when you're running down a mountain? A sharp pain in her butt, right side, and Franceza misses a step, falling face first on the path, scraping her hands and knees raw, scratching her face. She lays still, dazed. And somehow... Tia doesn't seem that suprised. She lets out a little sigh as she pulls up beside McD, a glance sent up his way then over towards Frank. McDowell gives a sigh and starts towards Franceza once more. He puts the pistol away, after clicking the safety on of course. "Well, that didn't play out how we had hoped," he comments, rather casually. "Are you alive?" He casts a glance back towards Tiana, but remains silent. Everything hurts! Franceza shakes her head in an attempt to clear it but there's too many body parts screaming for attention all at once. She groans groggily. Tiana once again pulls up beside McD, quietly, the Martian woman leaning up to whisper soft words to the elder Martian as well as press a light kiss to his cheek. Tiana whispers, "I told you she didn't want to learn. Anyway, do you need help with her wound or anything? If not, i'm gonna go home and wait for someone to contact me. I already sent Lucky and Nort messages, while I was walking." to McDowell. McDowell continues towards Franceza, stooping down to remove the dart from Franceza's behind. He glances back to Tiana and gives a nod. "She'll feel like shit, but I'm not going to leave her like this. It's not our way," he comments, giving a sigh. There's actually a look of frustration as he looks down to Franceza. "Why did you have to do something stupid like that?" he growls out at the downed woman. "We try to guide your hand away from the path that you will end up going down." "The... Huh... Wha?" She blinks as her butt screams out that it's being molested louder then anything else. She reaches back with a bloodied hand. "What happened," she grunts, twisting her face in pain, not quite hearing what McDowell's actually saying. "What do you need me to do then?" Tia asks, kneeling down beside Franceza and passing a glance back to McD. Her hand hovers above Frank's shoulder, but doesn't lower to rest yet. "You had a nasty spill... I can get that out, just give me a minute and I'll have it out clean," McDowell says, trying to move Frank's hands out of the way of retrieving the dart. " Landed on... something." There's a vague look towards Tiana. "Water, I think... Help her clean her wounds up." Franceza blinks, dazed, yells once he pulls the dart out and makes an effort of pushing herself up. Tiana rummages around in her purse, a decent sized thing, that, to pull out a small bottle of water and a few napkins. The bottle is set on the ground, while the napkins are kept free of dirt, "Shh, calm down and let me wash your cuts." Tia leans in to put a hand on Frank's shoulder gently. McDowell's voice continues to remain soft, and almost caring. It's even complete with a worried look. "Shhh... Relax, you might fall over if you stand up too quickly." He quickly discreets the dart into one pocket. "Do you remember your name? Do you remember what day it is?" He moves back to allow Tiana to cleaning the other woman's cuts. Day? Who cares if there's a day, can't they see she's hurting something fierce here? Franceza groans, pulls back hands when they're taken for cleaning. "Leave me," she mutters, double tongued. Tiana sighs lightly, muttering quietly in latin and mostly to herself as she reaches to take Fran's hand forcefully for cleaning. The napkins are set on her lap, water bottle taken in her spare hand and the cap removed with her teeth. A little bit of water is carefully poured on the napkins in her lap, the Martian evidently uncaring if a little soaked through or spilled onto her pants. She tries to get the wound care done -again-. "We're not going to hurt you," McDowell says, giving a sad sigh and a shake of his head. His good eye then tracks to Tiana. "Obviously, we're not good enough to help her when she needs help. I guess we leave her to her own devices." The padding of feet can be heard, softly at first, and then, more frequent, mixing in with the sound of leaves being brushed out of the way, though due to low visibility and terrain, the person is not yet visible. The pain in her hands momentarily blocks out the pain in her butt, but Frank murmurs, groggily, "You shot me..." She doesn't have the clarity of mind to pull her hand back again, though she does keep struggling. McDowell arches a brow at Frank. He taps the pistol hunting pistol at his hip and shakes his head. "If I shot you, with my girl, then New Luna would have heard her barking out in song," he says, shaking his head. He glances towards Tiana and shakes his head. "No one shot you." Tia asserts gently, though firmly, damp napkin being swiped over first one hand then the other of Frank's, "I'm going to help you onto your back so I can see if you have anything else that needs cleaning." She looks up to McD, offering a light shrug, "If she wants to resist further, then fine, she can just stay where she is until someone else finds her. Lets just hope they're good enough for her." She shrugs again before leaning in to do as she said she would and help Fran roll over. Dirionis jogs his way up the path, now visible to the bunch, toting a blue bag on his shoulder, brow arched as he actually spots people here, and the current situation. He walks towards them, "Is somethin' wrong?" Franceza is rolled onto her back, though the landing of behind on rocky path does call forth a yell in pain, bruised flesh protesting all over. Her face is scratched, hands and knees are raw and bloody. And the look in her eyes... Far from clear. McDowell glances towards Diri, making the universal drinking sign. "She had a fall after doing something at the top of the mountain," he replies. He gives a vague shrug in the direction of the Marine. Tiana lets McD do the talking while she continues to attend to Frank. The first napkin, bloodied and dirty now is set aside, under a corner her purse so it wouldn't get swept away in any sudden breezes. A fresh one is taken to the engineers knees, as gently as is manageable. Dirionis nods to McDowell a single time, dropping next to Tiana and fishing through his large blue bag to bring out a first aid kit. "This'll help." "No," Frank shakes her head, winces in pain, "It was..." Exhausted, she lets her head fall back, eyes closed. "I'll let you handle this," McDowell says to both Dirionis and Tiana. "Regretfully, we must depart for the time being. We wish you all the best, and hope that the child of the dead Earth recovers from her fall completely." He gives a sigh, then shakes his head. "We will also contact the hospital." Tiana pauses momentarily to offer McD a slight wave, a hint of tiredness finding it's way into her voice, "Bye for now, Brandon." She looks to Diri, then down to the first aid kit before she silently opens up the aforementioned item and rummages till she comes up with some anti-septic, gauze pads and a roll of gauze. Add anti-septic to gauze pad, use to clean wound, watch the patient wince, wrap wound, repeat. Dirionis does the same as Tiana, helping out with the cleaning of the wounds. He nods to McDowell, "Thanks, see you around." Before going back to his work. McDowell offers a wave, and a worried look to Frank as he passes. He doesn't say anything before he slips seamlessly into the jungle once more. There's no escaping two sets of hands intend on rubbing in the pain. Or cleaning up wounds, to Franceza it's much the same. She lays mostly still, occasionally groans, eyes still closed. "Give her some water if she'll drink it please." Tia says to Diri without looking to him, a slight nod made towards the open and somewhat depleted water bottle on her far side. Frank's hands and knees get wrapped up before Tia stands and steps over the woman, anti-septic and gauze pads in hand. She kneels once more and gently sets to work on the cuts on the other woman's face. "I'm assumin' the only wounds on her are scratches, am I correct?" Dirionis says, reaching for the water bottle, gently lifting Franceza's head up, elevating it to the water bottle that is placed to her lips, slowly letting water trickle into her mouth. Franceza drinks when forced to, the action instinctive. Even dazed, the woman has no desire to drown. She is calming down a little. Or drifting off. The protests at least grow weaker. Tiana nod as she finishes cleaning the scratches on Fran's face, "So far as I can see. You should take her to the hospital though, just to be sure she's not fractured or broken something." She looks up to Diri, "Can you do that? I really need to get home before I get more tired than I already am." Dirionis nods slowly, replying, "Yeah, I'll take her over. Thanks for your help." He gathers his supplies in his bag again. Franceza murmurs something, but it's incomprehensible. Tiana nods, pushing herself up to stand, "Sure." She steps around the prone woman once more to collect her purse before she starts down the mountain, calling over her shoulder, "I'll talk to you later, Diri." Dirionis puts the bag over his shoulder, before reaching down to pick Franceza up, one hand under her knees, the other, under her neck. He starts to walk down the trail as well. Category:Classic OtherSpace_Logs